During Gonzaga’s NCAA Tournament game against Oklahoma State on Friday, Bulldogs sophomore center Przemek Karnowski looked up into the crowd at Viejas Arena and spotted the red-and-white flag of his home country being held up by some Gonzaga fans.

The gesture brought a smile to the big man’s face.

“I think it’s pretty cool that I have this support,” said Karnowski, a native of Torun, Poland, who has blossomed into the Bulldogs’ anchor this season.

The 7-foot-1, 296-pounder briefly found himself in the spotlight Friday afternoon when CBS announcer Andrew Catalon referred to Oklahoma State’s strategy against Karnowski as “Hack-a-Polack.”

Catalon later apologized, and the easygoing Karnowski said he wasn’t offended by the remark. He also isn’t offended by how often everyone from his teammates to television broadcasters struggle to pronounce his name.

The announcers will have their work cut out for them when Karnowski and the eighth-seeded Bulldogs (28-6) take on No. 1 seed Arizona (31-4) on Sunday in the third round of the West Regional.

Call it the "Battle Of The Polish Big Men Whose Names Are Hard To Pronounce.”

No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 8 Gonzaga

Team comparison box

Arizona

Gonzaga

Points per game

72.9

77.1

Points allowed per game

58.2

65.4

Rebounds per game

38.7

35.8

Assist/turnover ratio

15.1/10.5

14.6/11.4

Shooting percentage

47.1

49.8

3-point percentage

36.0

39.7

Free throw percentage

65.3

70.6

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Karnowski will match up directly against the Wildcats’ 7-foot, 235-pound center, Kaleb Tarczewski.

Like Karnowski, Tarczewski is Polish by ancestry, enjoys pierogies (a Polish delicacy), and is the biggest player on his team. Both are known by Americanized versions of their Polish names.

Karnowski’s full first name is Przemyslaw (pronounced “Shem-mis-slav”) but he goes by Przemek (pronounced “Shem-mick”), or “Shrek.”

Tarczewski is from New Hampshire, and his family prefers the pronunciation “Tar-zew-ski” — though the name is really pronounced, as Karnowski volunteers, “Tar-chev-ski” in Polish.

But that’s where the similarities end.

The son of a father who coached basketball and a mother who played it, Karnowski grew up a hoops junkie. His father, Bonifacy, was a big NBA fan who loved the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan and John Stockton.

As fate would have it, his son picked up basketball at age 11, and became good enough that he’s now on the Polish national team and at Gonzaga plays alongside David Stockton — the son of the legendary Utah Jazz point guard.

The Karnowskis got to meet the Stocktons last December, when they made their first trip to the United States to watch Przemek play.

Unlike most of his Arizona teammates, Tarczewski didn’t try basketball until he was in middle school, and didn’t start playing seriously until his freshman year of high school.

“I did summer soccer, I was in the band for a while. … I really loved football in middle school and I was a defensive end and tight end,” Tarczewski said.

From that standpoint, even though the sophomore is a two-year starter for the Wildcats, he’s still learning every time he steps on the floor.

“His upside is really big, and yet some of the things he didn’t know at the beginning can surprise you,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “But the experience he gained last year, coupled with an incredible work ethic, have allowed him to be a rock-solid player.

“He’s become a smarter player as much as anything, and I think one of the reasons our defense has been good is he’s in many ways the anchor of it with how smart he is, his size and the way he can move.”

Tarczewski will be seriously tested against Karnowski and the Bulldogs, who dominated Oklahoma State in the paint on Friday. Karnowski finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds and was instrumental in keeping the Cowboys away from the rim.

“He’s definitely a big real estate guy,” Tarczewski said. “I’ve seen him post to the rim. He’s got great hands, and I think he’s real crafty around the rim.

“Doing a good job containing him in the post will be a tough challenge, but I’m all for it.”

Karnowski is bigger than Tarczewski, outweighing his lithe, athletic counterpart by about 60 pounds. Their shooting percentages are similar — 59 percent for Karnowski, 58.5 percent for Tarczewski — but the Wildcats center is much better from the free-throw line (75.8 percent to Karnowski’s 50.9 percent).

Tarczewski has also found his form on his midrange jumper in recent weeks.

“Kaleb has been stepping his game up, and part of the reason is because he’s hitting his 15-footer,” Wildcats guard Nick Johnson said. “He’s able to step away from the basket and hit that shot, so it opens up a post game for him. They can’t double down as much when we’re shooting the ball a little bit better.”

The Polish big men are ready to duel, and their teammates are excited to watch.

“As far as that matchup goes, I think it’s going to be a good one,” Johnson said. “Two 7-footers, bangin’ (in) the post down low. I’m just hoping our big can come out on top.”

Size matters?

Karnowski aside, Gonzaga’s team is a lot smaller than Arizona’s. The Wildcats’ smallest player is 6-1, 195-pound guard T.J. McConnell, and they boast three 200-pounders in their starting lineup.

Gonzaga thrives on the quickness of guards Kevin Pangos (6-2, 182) and Stockton (5-11, 165), but they can’t match the Wildcats pound for pound.

“It will be a tough matchup because I don’t know that we’ve faced this size in bulk and strength and athleticism yet this year,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. “But I don’t know that they’ve faced somebody like Przemek, either. He’s a big man. It will be a battle.”

Complacent No. 1 seed

With Stephen F. Austin’s win over VCU and Mercer’s win over Duke, the NCAA Tournament has already seen its share of upsets. Could that happen to Arizona?

Gonzaga isn’t counting on it.

“I don’t think they’re overlooking us,” Bulldogs guard Gary Bell said. “Two years ago, we played them and beat them, so I think they’re definitely going to be ready for us.

“Me, Kevin (Pagnos) and Sam (Dower) all played in that game, so they definitely have their eyes open for us. We’re aggressive and we’re going to come out and play tomorrow."

Gonzaga is 1-3 all-time against the Wildcats, but beat Arizona 71-60 in 2012.